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THE ULTIMATE CHILDREN'S BOOK FOR
MUSIC FESTIVAL FANS
Do you love to read to your kids, but get tired of the same old stories?
Are looking for something more contemporary and relatable?
Something that's really engaging your children AND a bit of a laugh for you too?
Picture this...
The Summer holidays are long gone, the evening is drawing in, and it's time to put the kids to bed. You're starting to worry that the memories you made as a family this summer are fading from view. You reach for a storybook and there it is - all those awesome festival sights encapsulated in a fun and colourful story that you can pick up any time, and relive those vibes again together.
Thanks to the support of real festival-loving families, "Molly's First Festival" - the music festival children's book - is here to make this picture a reality!
This is the first and only kids' book about a child's music festival experience.
So if you have children and are going to a festival, well - you've come to the right place!
Designed to Reassure Stressed Families
"As an illustrator who has spent my career specialising in books with real-life places in them, I know how useful picture books can be as a way to share memories and prepare for new experiences.
Children really respond to familiar sights in their stories. Since I'm a festival-going mum myself, I wanted to do the same thing for festival-loving parents. So in 2023 I made this book a reality through crowdfunding with the help of real families, using your own hilarious stories and images - meaning this is truly unique book made just for parents like you."
- Katherine, Author / Illustrator of "Molly's First Festival"
A music festival can be a big, fun, but kind of intimidating event for families.
This book is here to provide reassurance about what to expect, and to celebrate the amazing range of activities that modern music festivals have to offer though familiar festival sights.
Whether you're are a seasoned festival-lover or you are going with your children for the first time - be it Glastonbury, Camp Bestival, Green Man, Latitude or any of the many smaller festivals - this is the PERFECT story book to share before you go.
And afterwards, what better souvenir to remember all those fab festival times you had over the Summer?
WATCH ON CBEEBIES
During the 2023 Glastonbury Festival, "Molly's First Festival" was read on TV as part of a CBeebies Special called "Dodge's First Festival", filmed onsite at the Kidz Field.
This means that when you buy your copy of "Molly's First Festival", your kids can look forward to watching the CBeebies presenters Dodge and Evie reading their book whenever they fancy it!
Available to watch on iPlayer or here on Youtube.
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY
Paperback Editon: "Molly's First Festival"
£9.99
Plus £2.50 P&P to UK only.
The music festival children's book. Follow Molly and her family's adventures as they go to their first festival together.
As seen on CBeebies, and at Camp Bestival and Glastonbury. 100% independent and powered by crowdfunding.
___
Bumper Bonus Edition: "Molly's First Festival" PLUS Festival Play Set
£17.50 £9.99
Plus £2.50 P&P to UK only.
Bumper Bonus Edition includes:
-
Signed copy of "Molly's First Festival"
- Personalised Ticket and
Lanyard
- Festival
Wristband
- Festival Sticker Set
- Printed Activity Pack including; Festival Colouring-in, Dot-to-dot, Make-your-own Origami tent, and Reader Comprehension Activities
Please allow 2-4 working days for delivery. For speedy delivery, international delivery, retail enquiries OR to order more than three at a time, please get in touch at info@katherineoshea.co.uk.
PLEASE NOTE - the play sets are not suitable for babies who are liable to break/chew them. The lanyards have a saftey clasp but I would always recommend that young children are supervised when wearing them.
HERE'S WHAT PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY...
“We love your book! It built up lots of excitement before the festival, then we read it last night at bedtime to reminisce on all of the special times we had.” - Sarah
"Love this book and the beautiful illustrations! Took my daughter to Glastonbury for the first time last year, and this book is a beautiful, fun reminder. One of my favorite finds!" - Lauren
"Just received my new book. Five minutes in the house and it's already been read to my sleepy toddler. Thank you so much, it's such a beautiful and well-written story" - Carla
"We LOVE our book! Thank you soooooo much! It was read three times over straight from the post, and has been the book of the day ever since!" - Christy
Molly is excited - she’s going to a music festival with her family for the first time. But will Mum and Dad love it too?
The story follows Molly, Mum, Dad and baby brother Ted as they make their way through the festival each day, all trying to have as much fun as possible in a crazy new place. It's a funny and honest look at what going to festivals with young children is really like, in all its ups and downs - but ultimately it is about finding joy.
Representing Real and Diverse Families
Part of what makes music festivals such a valuable experience is that it is a window into our wider world, and for many children, it’s the first opportunity they have had to see such a large number of people.
"Molly's First Festival" was brought to life with the support of real-life contributors after being successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter, reaching 138% of its goal,. Families of those who donated were drawn into the book as thanks for their support - so this book is full of genuine festival memories!
It is important that everyone is represented in children's books, so you can find people of all kinds within the pages - inlcuding mixed race families, gay parents and people with visible disabilities - all having a great time at the festival together. Having real people included as characters in this book means the diversity of the crowd is represented by genuine families.
Read more about the brilliant families who supported this project here.
Katherine O'Shea is a mum and illustrator living with her husband and toddler in the county of Somerset. She illustrates a number of detailed subjects using traditional materials, including children's books with an emphasis on real-life places and people, and loves to see the excitement that familiar sights can have on young readers.
"The idea for this story came out of my own experiences of attending the Glastonbury Festival with my daughter Molly for the very first time. I had a special moment on the hill looking down at the lights when the idea came to me in an instant - to create a children's book that encapsulated what we had just experienced in a fun and colourful story for parents to share with their children. I know there are thousands of people out there who will recognise the 'family experience' of a festival, so I wanted to write and illustrate this story for them."
If you are interested in finding out more about Katherine's artwork, you can view a portfolio of her illustration at www.katherineoshea.co.uk or if you are thinking of commissioning a family portrait, please see Portraits.
- Alexis Deacon, two-time winner of the New York Times Children's Book Award an Illustration lecturer at Cambridge School of Art
LOOKING FOR ADVICE ON TAKING KIDS TO FESTIVALS?
I want to help kids and parents feel confident when going to a festival, so I also run a Facebook group, called The Festival Families Club, which you can join to recieve and share free tips and advice on taking your kids to a festival. Everyone is welcome!
Share your stories at #mollysfirstfestival
Join me on Instagram at @mollysfirstfestival - you can share your own festival photos and drawings using #mollysfirstfestival and I will re-post them on the "Molly's First Festival" social media!
Plus £2.50 P&P to UK only.
Please allow 2-4 working days for delivery. For speedy delivery, international delivery, retail enquiries OR to order more than three at a time, please get in touch at info@katherineoshea.co.uk
As an independently published book, every order means the world to me.
If you’ve read the book, I would love to hear what you think.
Leave a review on Amazon, Google Reviews, or Goodreads:
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Copyright Katherine O'Shea © 2022